Search Event Chain Display Method, Search Event Chain Generation Method, and Electronic Device

This application is a continuation of International Application No. PCT/CN2023/142788, filed on Dec. 28, 2023, which claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202310129602.6, filed on Jan. 31, 2023. The disclosures of the aforementioned applications are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties.

This application relates to the field of terminal technologies, and in particular, to a search event chain display method, a search event chain generation method, and an electronic device.

Generally, when using a search engine to search for a solution to a problem, a user may need to search by a plurality of keywords, tap a plurality of articles, and then read the articles to obtain the solution. In other words, the solution to the problem cannot be obtained by simply performing one search and reading one article. Therefore, how to enable the user to quickly find the solution to the problem is particularly important.

Currently, when searching for a solution to a problem, the user may manually record and organize search keywords of the user and webpages that the user has tapped, and then publish the search keywords and the webpages online in a form of a webpage. In the foregoing manner, the user needs to spend time and effort on recording and organizing, resulting in poor user experience.

This application provides a search event chain display method, a search event chain generation method, and an electronic device, to resolve a problem that a user needs to manually record and organize a search event chain due to an unclear keyword-based search result, which is time-consuming.

According to a first aspect, this application provides a search event chain display method. The method includes: An electronic device receives a first search instruction triggered by a user, and sends a first search request message to a server, where the first search request message is used to obtain a search result corresponding to the first search instruction. Then, the electronic device receives a first search result sent by the server, where the first search result includes data of at least one search event chain related to the first search instruction, and the search event chain includes one or more events associated with the first search request. Finally, the electronic device displays a corresponding search event chain card based on the data of the at least one search event chain.

According to the foregoing technical solution, the user can intuitively view a search event chain, display of a search result in a form of the card is more intuitive, and user experience is better.

In a possible design, the first search request message includes a first search keyword, a title of the at least one search event chain includes the first search keyword or a second search keyword, and the second search keyword is associated with the first search keyword.

According to the foregoing technical solution, a search event chain related to a search keyword that the user currently searches by may be found based on a search keyword included in a title of a search event chain, and data of the search event chain is returned to the user. In this way, accuracy of a search result can be improved.

In a possible design, data of each search event chain includes at least the following information: a title of the search event chain, identification information of a publisher, hypertext markup language HTML text corresponding to each event included in the search event chain, and an order relationship between different events.

According to the foregoing technical solution, the electronic device may render and display the search event chain based on the foregoing information, making it more intuitive and clear to the user, so that user experience can be improved.

In a possible design, the search event chain card includes a chain line and a chain figure, the chain line includes one or more events, the one or more events are in a logical order, the chain figure includes a plurality of pages, and each page is a display interface corresponding to one event.

According to the foregoing technical solution, the user can view a search event chain in a form of the chain line or the chain figure, a viewing form is flexible, and user experience is better.

In a possible design, the method further includes: The electronic device displays a search event chain in a form of the chain line in response to a triggering operation of the user on a chain line button. Alternatively, the electronic device displays a search event chain in a form of the chain figure in response to a triggering operation of the user on a chain figure button.

According to the foregoing technical solution, the user can select different display forms of a search event chain according to a requirement of the user, to improve user experience.

In a possible design, the first search result further includes data of at least one webpage link related to the first search instruction.

The method further includes: The electronic device displays, based on the data of the at least one webpage link, a title corresponding to the webpage link.

According to the foregoing technical solution, the electronic device may display corresponding content based on a search result returned by the server. When the server returns data of a webpage link, the electronic device may display, based on the data of the webpage link, a title corresponding to the webpage link. In this way, the user can view a search result other than a search event chain card.

According to a second aspect, this application provides a search event chain generation method. The method includes: An electronic device receives a second search instruction triggered by a user, and sends a second search request message to a server, where the second search request message is used to obtain a search result corresponding to the second search instruction. Then, the electronic device receives a second search result sent by the server, where the second search result includes at least one webpage link related to the second search instruction. Next, the electronic device adds at least one piece of search content to a search event chain in response to a first adding operation of the user on the second search result, where the search content includes at least one of the following: a webpage link in the second search result, an image in a webpage link, a video in a webpage link, or a text in a webpage link; or the electronic device records a second operation of the user on the second search result. Finally, the electronic device generates the search event chain in response to a second operation of the user.

According to the foregoing technical solution, the user may add required search content to a search event chain, or the electronic device may automatically record an operation of the user. Then, the electronic device generates the search event chain based on a triggering operation of the user. In this way, it is more convenient for the user to operate, without spending effort of the user, so that user experience can be improved.

In a possible design, before generating the search event chain, the method further includes:

The electronic device receives a third search instruction triggered by the user, and sends a third search request message to the server, where the third search request message is used to obtain a search result corresponding to the third search instruction. The electronic device receives a third search result sent by the server, where the third search result includes at least one webpage link related to the third search instruction. The electronic device adds at least one piece of search content to the search event chain in response to a second adding operation of the user on the third search result, where the search content includes at least one of the following: a webpage link in the third search result, an image in a webpage link, a video in a webpage link, or a text in a webpage link; or the electronic device records a third operation of the user on the third search result. The electronic device saves or shares the search event chain.

According to the foregoing technical solution, the electronic device may record an operation performed by the user based on a search result, or the user adds required content to a search event chain. Then, the electronic device may save or share the search event chain, so that the search event chain is subsequently shared to another person or locally saved for subsequent use.

In a possible design, before generating the search event chain, the method further includes: The electronic device screens and sorts at least one piece of search content in the search event chain.

According to the foregoing technical solution, the electronic device may screen and sort at least one piece of search content, and there is no need for the user to spend effort on organizing and sorting, so that user experience can be improved.

In a possible design, the search event chain includes a chain line and a chain figure, the chain line includes one or more events that are based on the search content, the one or more events are in a logical order, the chain figure includes a plurality of pages, and each page is a display interface corresponding to one event.

In a possible design, before generating the search event chain, the method further includes:

In response to an editing operation of the user on at least one event in the plurality of events, the electronic device edits the at least one event.

According to the foregoing technical solution, the user may perform an editing operation on an event, for example, adjust an event description. In this way, user experience can be improved.

According to a third aspect, this application provides an electronic device. The electronic device includes a display, one or more processors, one or more memories, one or more sensors, a plurality of applications, and one or more computer programs. The one or more computer programs are stored in the one or more memories. The one or more computer programs include instructions. When the instructions are invoked and executed by the one or more processors, the electronic device is enabled to perform the method according to the first aspect, the second aspect, or any one of the possible designs of the first aspect and the second aspect.

According to a fourth aspect, this application further provides an electronic device. The electronic device includes modules/units that perform the method according to the first aspect, the second aspect, or any one of the possible designs of the first aspect or the second aspect. These modules/units may be implemented by hardware, or may be implemented by hardware executing corresponding software.

According to a fifth aspect, this application further provides a computer-readable storage medium. The computer-readable storage medium stores instructions. When the instructions are run on an electronic device, the electronic device is enabled to perform the method according to the first aspect, the second aspect, or any one of the possible designs of the first aspect and the second aspect.

According to a sixth aspect, this application further provides a computer program product. When the computer program product is run on an electronic device, the electronic device is enabled to perform the method according to the first aspect, the second aspect, or any one of the possible designs of the first aspect and the second aspect in embodiments of this application.

For each of the third aspect to the sixth aspect and technical effects that may be achieved by the aspect, refer to the descriptions of technical effects that may be achieved by possible solutions in the first aspect. Details are not described herein again.

The following describes technical solutions in embodiments of this application in detail with reference to accompanying drawings in embodiments of this application.

The following first describes some terms in embodiments of this application, to facilitate understanding of a person skilled in the art.

When using a search engine to search for a solution to a problem, a user may need to search by a series of keywords for the problem, and tap a plurality of articles to read to obtain the solution. In embodiments of this application, a series of actions such as the search and the tap may be defined as a search event chain.

For example, for the problem “How to edit and make a video”, a possible search event chain is as follows:

Event 1: First, the user searches by “How to edit and make a video” in the search engine, and taps the article “How to edit and make a video? Here are some editing methods”. The user reads the article and can learn that a Petal Clip application (APP) can be used to edit and make a video.

Event 2: Then, the user searches by “Download Petal Clip” in the search engine, and taps the article “Petal-mobile app (client download)”. The user may tap a link in the article to download and install the Petal Clip app.

Event 3: Finally, the user searches by “How to use Petal Clip to make a video” in the search engine, and taps the article “Methods for making a video with Petal Clip”. The user can learn, from methods and steps in the article, how to use the Petal Clip app to make a video.

The foregoing three events are arranged in a logical order of resolving a problem. For example, the user first needs to read the article “How to edit and make a video? Here are some editing methods” to learn that the Petal Clip app can be used to edit and make a video. Next, the user may download the Petal Clip app, and then learn specific operation steps of the Petal Clip app, to learn how to use the Petal Clip app to edit and make a video. In other words, Event 1 is a prerequisite for Event 2 and Event 3.

An application is briefly referred to as an app, and is a software program that can implement one or more specific functions. Usually, a plurality of applications may be installed on an electronic device, for example, a camera application, a messages application, a mailbox application, a video application, and a music application. An application mentioned below may be an application already installed before delivery of the electronic device, or may be an application downloaded from a network or obtained from another electronic device by a user during use of the electronic device.

For example,is a diagram of an application scenario according to an embodiment of this application. Refer to. The application scenario may include an electronic deviceand a server. The electronic devicemay be any electronic device having a display, such as a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a wearable device (for example, a watch, a band, a smart helmet, or smart glasses), a vehicle-mounted device, an augmented reality (AR) device/a virtual reality (VR) device, a notebook computer, an ultra-mobile personal computer (UMPC), a netbook, or a personal digital assistant (PDA). This is not limited in embodiments of this application. The electronic devicein this embodiment of this application may be a foldable electronic device, for example, a foldable mobile phone or a foldable tablet computer. This is not limited in this application. In addition, an example embodiment of the electronic deviceincludes but is not limited to an electronic deviceusing iOS®, Android®, Microsoft®, HarmonyOS®, or another operating system. The servermay be a single server, or may be a server cluster. In addition, the servermay alternatively be a cloud server or the like. This is not limited in this application.

In some embodiments, a user may input a search keyword in an interface of a search engine of the electronic devicefor a search, and then the electronic devicemay send a search request message to the server. After receiving the search request message, the servermay search a prestored search event chain library for data of a search event chain related to the search request message, and return found data of at least one search event chain to the electronic device. Then, the electronic devicemay display a search event chain card based on the data of the at least one search event chain. In this way, the user may tap, for viewing, in the search event chain card displayed on the electronic device.

In the diagram shown in, a communication connection is established between the electronic deviceand the serverthrough a communication network. The communication network may be a local area network, or may be a wide area network transferred via a relay (relay) device, or the like. When the communication network is a local area network, the communication network may be, for example, a short-range communication network such as a wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) hotspot network, a Bluetooth (BT) network, or a near field communication (NFC) network. When the communication network is a wide area network, the communication network may be, for example, a 3rd generation mobile communication technology (3G) network, a 4th generation mobile communication technology (4G) network, a 5th generation mobile communication technology (5G) network, a future evolved public land mobile network (PLMN), or the Internet.

The following describes a structure of the electronic devicein the scenario shown inby using a mobile phoneas an example of the electronic device.

As shown in, the mobile phonemay include a processor, an external memory interface, an internal memory, a universal serial bus (USB) interface, a charging management module, a power management module, a battery, an antenna, an antenna, a mobile communication module, a wireless communication module, an audio module, a speakerA, a receiverB, a microphoneC, a headset jackD, a sensor module, a button, a motor, an indicator, a camera, a display, a subscriber identity module (SIM) card interface, and the like. The sensor modulemay include a pressure sensorA, a gyroscope sensorB, a barometric pressure sensorC, a magnetic sensorD, an acceleration sensorE, a distance sensorF, an optical proximity sensorG, a fingerprint sensorH, a temperature sensorJ, a touch sensorK, an ambient light sensorL, a bone conduction sensorM, and the like.

The processormay include one or more processing units. For example, the processormay include an application processor (AP), a modem processor, a graphics processing unit (GPU), an image signal processor (ISP), a controller, a memory, a video codec, a digital signal processor (DSP), a baseband processor, a neural-network processing unit (NPU), and/or the like. Different processing units may be independent components, or may be integrated into one or more processors. The controller may be a neural center and a command center of the mobile phone. The controller may generate an operation control signal based on instruction operation code and a time sequence signal, to complete control of instruction fetching and instruction execution. A memory may be further disposed in the processor, and is configured to store instructions and data. In some embodiments, the memory in the processoris a cache memory. The memory may store instructions or data just used or cyclically used by the processor. If the processorneeds to use the instructions or the data again, the processor may directly invoke the instructions or the data from the memory. This avoids repeated access, reduces waiting time of the processor, and therefore improves system efficiency.

The USB interfaceis an interface that conforms to a USB standard specification, and may be specifically a mini USB interface, a micro USB interface, a USB Type-C interface, or the like. The USB interfacemay be configured to connect to a charger to charge the mobile phone, or may be configured to perform data transmission between the mobile phoneand a peripheral device. The charging management moduleis configured to receive a charging input from the charger. The power management moduleis configured to connect to the battery, the charging management module, and the processor. The power management modulereceives an input from the batteryand/or the charging management module, to supply power to the processor, the internal memory, an external memory, the display, the camera, the wireless communication module, and the like.